Wrapping Up The Month

Another month has come and gone. The ends of months should be used as times of reflection and preparation for the month to come. For me, September's main goal was to get through the month in one piece (think impatiently waiting for my husband to come back so we could close on our house).

For the start of the next month, let's keep in mind where we want to be and what we need to accomplish in this month to stay on track. In addition I have an exciting announcement about how the blog is going to be running starting in October. Stay tuned for October '15 Goals!

I hope September was a good month for you all, and that you did accomplish at least part of your goals. Let's keep growing and working to make our dreams a reality with or without a college education or 2.5 kids or whatever else the average is.

What did you accomplish in September? What was holding you back from accomplishing more? What can we change to make October even better and one step closer to where we want to be?

Here's To You

I just wanted to let you know that you are doing great, and I am proud of you. You have overcome some pretty big things over the years. Look where you are now! It may not be exactly where you want to be yet, but you'll get there in time. Everything always plays out how it's meant to eventually.

It's okay to be a little confused. It's okay to be lost. It's okay to not have all the answers. It's in these times that we always learn the most because these are the times when we are the most open. Embrace it! Open your mind to all that life has to offer, and learn the new lesson.

October is going to be a big month. Let's put to bed the failures of September and be ready to move forward with new resolve. I have a compilation of motivational pictures because I don't know about you all, but I am definitely dragging this week. If you want to see more like this, let me know in the comments section. Get ready to tackle the adventures October has to offer!

What is Marriage Really?

Something that has been coming up a lot lately in my life is marriage so I figure why not just write another post about it! One thing I have noticed a lot in my 20 years is that as the weather gets cooler, people do start to think about settling down or taking another step closer in their relationships. My guess is the holidays remind us of the importance of our loved ones, and it's too cold to really go out (I really don't like the cold XD).

Let's talk some marriage, shall we? My opinion on marriage as something that isn't for everyone still stands, but let's back up. The reasoning behind marriage has varied a lot throughout history: trading daughters for profit, marrying off daughters to build social standing, religious reasons, love, contractual arrangements. Even today there are many different reasons.

If we're completely honest, marriage is nothing more than a legal document. Because of that, marriage in the sense that we have come to know it needs to be recognized as a legal step more than anything else. In today's world, couples can live together as a cohesive family unit without the paperwork so it really isn't necessary to take that legal step unless it is something that you are wanting.

Binding yourself to one person mentally, spiritually, emotionally, physically, and legally is definitely a big step, and it takes a lot of time to undo each piece of a bond like that. I'll let you all in on a secret: if I wasn't legally married to Roger, I probably would have left. But thanks to the amount of effort it would've taken to undo everything, I decided it was less effort to give us another chance. Being married literally saved my marriage because now, after all the growing and nonsense we've gone through together, our marriage is unshakable and worth more to me than anything else I could have on this Earth.

As I keep reiterating, we're all different. Legal marriage was one of those things that I always wanted out of life, but really it is just some paperwork and benefits you don't have to have. Maybe for you and your relationship, paperwork isn't what fits best. But maybe a legal union is all you want without some of the other aspects (spiritual, physical, etc.). Moral of this story, know what exactly it is that you're wanting and why so you can make an informed decision.

What is your opinion on getting the marriage license and whole shebang as opposed to someone with a common-law marriage? Or maybe just shacking up or someone married to disguise their sexuality?

Are You Good Enough?

Are you good enough? Are you good enough for this college or that job? are you goodenough for theboy areyougoodenoughforhappinessorfulfillmentorloveorsuccessororororSTOP
Stop right there. Just pause. Take a deep breath. To anyone who is plagued by questions like these, I have some things to say to you.

Before I started blogging, I always wondered about how people could choose to put themselves out there on the Internet like that. Or having a YouTube channel?? That made me cringe just thinking about the number of trolls out there who love to talk all kinds of crap about anybody and everything. My favorite YouTube stars say they have always had good self-esteem and simply don't care about what others think. But how do you do that?

I know this is easier said than done. I've been there. I've been in the hole waiting for someone to throw some attention my way and pull me out of the darkness. So long as someone was holding my hand, I was fine. (Stage 1)

But eventually, my crutch stopped making me feel better. Outside forces weren't cutting it anymore, and no matter who I was with, I couldn't chase away all of the little monsters whispering in my ears. I was wearing the shadows around my shoulders everyday. (Stage 2)

When you reach this point, this is when you have to stop. This is when you have to pause and take that deep breath. This is when the healing starts. This is when we look inside and start the work. This is when we grow. Stage 3: this is when we recognize our talents and skills and passions.

Stage 4. Climb right out of that hole. Yeah, you may fall down a couple times (or a thousand). But you keep pushing. You have light in your very soul! The shadows don't have to weigh you down anymore. The turtle wins the race on this one. Slowly and steadily you build up your strength of character. Get good at forgiving yourself for having a bad day. Because you know what? It may be a bad day, but it's not a bad life. 

YOU ARE MORE THAN GOOD ENOUGH. I super pinkie promise swear to you that your value as a person comes from that last word: person. You are alive; you exist; you matter. And you are not alone. Self-esteem is one of the longest and hardest won wars, but let me tell you, making it to the top of the mountain is so worth it!! There is nothing like the liberation you feel when you take ownership of your own value and worthiness. There is no need to wait around for someone else to give you permission to be lovable. Give yourself the permission. You are something special. And you WILL find your purpose.

Have you struggled with self-esteem or self-worth? How did you get the courage to give yourself permission?

If you are having a low day, or maybe you're still in the hole, feel free to email me at cdossitm@yahoo.com or shoot me a private message on Facebook.

How To Find Your Purpose

Mark Twain once said, "The two most important days in your life are the day you were born and the day you find out why." Now if you are anything like me, you floundered around for a bit bouncing between passions and dreams of wealth trying to figure out what on Earth you were going to do for the rest of your life. All of this is to say finding your "why" is often easier said than done, but here are some questions you can ask yourself to help make this process a little easier.

What Do I Want to Get Out of Life?
This one is pretty important because this question helps to define the direction you want to go as well as your end destination. This question is not about your career necessarily unless something you want out of life is like the prestige of being a doctor or whatever it is that your heart desires. The point here is to know what all you want out of life and what those things require in order to achieve. Keeping those requirements in mind, we move on to the next question.

Do I View Jobs as a Means to an End or a Defining Characteristic of Who I Am?
Not a very usual question, but this one matters, too. If you see a job as a means to an end, then you aren't going to be as caught up in needing to feel meaningful at work. This is the difference between saying, "I work at a museum," and saying "I am a tour guide." My dad has a friend who went to medical school and was certified in his specialty, but he wanted to be able to spend his days snowboarding so he actually works at McDonald's. His job was a means to achieve what he wanted out of life. But if you're like me, your job defines you. This makes it harder to be satisfied in run-of-the-mill jobs and will keep you striving to find a job that also plays into what you want out of life.

What Do I Like to Do, and What am I Actually Good At?
Having a passion for something and having a talent for something isn't necessarily the same thing. This question helps to pin-down what it is that you wouldn't mind spending the rest of your life doing. Either figure out how to make money doing what you are passionate about or find a job doing something you're really good at. If you like painting, but something you want out of life is stability, you might rather get a job at an art gallery so that way you can still incorporate your passion and achieve stability.

Why Are We Here?
This is the most haunting question of them all, but let me tell that this one isn't as important unless philosophy is a passion of yours. If you have no real desire to make something out of this question, then simply understand that the "why" doesn't really matter since we are here, and that isn't going to be changing anytime soon. So go forth and chase your happiness, but keep in mind that we're all after the same thing. If an opportunity arises where you can help someone out, do it. Make life easier for others every chance you get. Because if we're completely honest, there isn't much purpose behind humanity's existence here other than to better the situation of those around us and make this world a little better.

Have you found your purpose? Does anyone have a coming of age story to share?

Mission Statement

Here it goes. Finally defining what it is that College Drop Out Success Story: In The Making is here to say. Honestly, this is one of those things that I know I should have done in the very beginning, but I wasn't 100% sure what all I wanted to write about. And without further ado:

The College Drop Out Success Story: In The Making is here to encourage everyone to live life to the fullest and to live exactly the life they want to lead. 

We don't have to be and do the things we're "supposed" to be and do. We are all entitled to find our own happiness instead of the happiness prescribed to us by others.

With that being said, a lot of this will be looked through the lens of my own personal experiences as that is how I am able to relate to the world. Tips and tricks and methodology will either be something that I have seen work in my own life or in the lives of others.

I promise to always provide content that is either uplifting, helpful, or deviant in some way (maybe a mix of all three). I promise to always be available and within reach (though I am pretty limited in the languages I am able to read and write).

In line with that, I have made a new email address exclusively for this blog so if you ever need to talk or have any questions, you can feel free to email me at cdossitm@yahoo.com, or you can always find me on Facebook at Facebook.com/cdossitm and shoot me a private message.

I can't wait to grow with you all now that we have a direction and some loose guidelines. If ever there is something you want to see, don't hesitate to make that suggestion! After all, I am here for all of you :)

September Goals '15

Update on how everything has been going so far: planner utilization hasn't been helping with my work schedule changing every week again. I'm really struggling to stay in a schedule when I don't have one. Our house is coming along (expect a blog post soon). Everything else about the blog is pretty much where it was in July.

Here are my goals for September!!

• Create my Mission Statement
• Get a good blogging habit formed
• Complete the September Photo Challenge!!

To anyone who has moved with pets, do you have any tips to share to help our dogs and cats adjust to living in a new place? I especially don't want to see any territory marking by any of the boys.

September Photo Challenge!!

I said I was going to have a photo challenge for September and here it is! Think of it as a countdown to a new beginning as we welcome a new season. (Picture version to come!)

September 1 - Where you are now
September 2 - Selfie
September 3 - Family
September 4 - Love
September 5 - Children (Fur or Otherwise)
September 6 - Nature
September 7 - Labor Day
September 8 - Nails
September 9 - Your latest project
September 10 - OOTD
September 11 - Patriot Day
September 12 - Your favorite color
September 13 - It's the little things
September 14 - Hobby
September 15 - Dream
September 16 - Pink!!
September 17 - Food
September 18 - FBF
September 19 - Your precious
September 20 - Stuffed animals
September 21 - Phone case
September 22 - Beverage
September 23 - Hello Fall!
September 24 - Your happy place
September 25 - Guilty pleasure
September 26 - National Pancake Day
September 27 - Birthday!
September 28 - MCM
September 29 - All Dolled UP!
September 30 - October is upon us!

October has some amazing things coming my way, and I can't wait to get there!!! But rushing through life makes it hard to stay content and find your happiness. Remember to live each day and be present for every moment of your life. This photo challenge is my reminder to myself to live for the present even while planning for the future and learning from the past. And on that note, game on!